Redskins running back Clinton Portis has scored 7 touchdowns and is averaging 5 yards per carry this season. Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images

By Ray Flowers, Fanball.com, Special to SI.com

The debate rages on about who is the best weapon in football. Is it the flashy quarterback who lofts deep touchdown passes or is it the dynamic backfield option that always seems to have the ball in his hands? For that matter, what about that receiver that always seems to be doing some type of end zone dance? In what follows we will attempt to answer the question of who is the most valuable fantasy player at each position in our weekly column dealing with the Player Rater Tool.

What is Player Rater tool you ask? It is an emotionless, statistically driven model that takes into account your leagues rules and tells you which players are performing at the highest level. For the sake of the analysis that follows, here are the "rules" that we will be using.

Four points: Touchdown pass
Four points: Rushing or receiving touchdown
One point: Per 25 yards passing
One point: Per 10 yards rushing or receiving
Three points: Per field goal
One point: Per extra point

Quarterback

Drew Brees -- 161.8 points

Brees has made eight starts this season and is averaging 320.4 yards per game, having thrown for less than 320 yards just twice.

Kurt Warner -- 161.5 points

The streak is up to 7-straight weeks with at least two touchdown passes while he has tossed just two interceptions over the past four games.

Philip Rivers -- 158.3 points

Though he has made just eight appearances, Rivers is already just three touchdown passes from tying his single season high of 22.

Aaron Rodgers -- 155.7 points

Rodgers is fifth in the NFL with a 95.3 QB Rating, a number that leaps to 126.7 on third downs (78 passing attempts).

Jay Cutler -- 155.4 points

The past three games haven't been pretty for the Broncos star as he has thrown for less than 195 yards twice while tossing six interceptions versus just five scores.

Donovan McNabb -- 136.2 points

On third down plays with less than three yards to go, McNabb is 12-for-14 with three scores for a 125.9 QB Rating.

Peyton Manning -- 134.1 points

Though the numbers don't really jump off the page considering some of his past wonderful performances, Manning is still on pace for 24 touchdowns and over 4,100-yards passing.

Brett Favre -- 133.9 points

What the heck happened? After a fast start Favre has floundered of late with just three touchdowns and a whopping eight interceptions the past four weeks.

Tony Romo -- 124.3 points

In his brief career, Romo has enjoyed more success at home with 41 touchdowns in 19 games versus 28 scores in 17 road games. He hopes to return in Week 11.

Matt Schaub -- 123.9 points

Will likely miss a month with an injured MCL that ended a streak of four-straight games with at least 265 yards passing (he finished with 139 yards on 16 passes in Week 9).

Running back

Clinton Portis -- 142.5 points

Though he lost his 120-yard rushing streak at five games (51 yards), he caught seven passes in the outing, which matched his total from the previous five games.

Marion Barber -- 120.9 points

In three of his past four outings he has failed to score a rushing touchdown or eclipse 75-yards in the contest.

Frank Gore -- 114.0 points

Despite being eighth in the NFL in yards (629), Gore is 10th in carries (136) and has only one game with at least 20-carries (27 in Week 3).

Adrian Peterson -- 112.8 points

Four straight 20-carry efforts have led to three consecutive outings of at least 111 yards.

Chris Johnson -- 111.9 points

After not scoring a rushing touchdown in his first three games, Johnson has scored five times on the ground in his last five games.

Matt Forte -- 110.9 points

Though he is averaging 80.1 yards per game, Forte's average of 3.8 yards per carry just happens to be the same mark as the career total of previously banished Cedric Benson.

Michael Turner -- 104.5 points

Five times Turner has carried the ball 20 times. Four times he has recorded at least 100 yards.

Brandon Jacobs -- 99.1 points

In four seasons, Jacobs yards per carry average just keeps improving (2.6, 4.4, 5.0 and 5.2 in 2008).

Ronnie Brown -- 97.6 points

After back-to-back 110-plus yard outings in Weeks 3 and 5 (Week 4 was a bye), Brown has averaged just 45 yards a game on the ground the past four games.

LaDainian Tomlinson -- 96.6 points

Though he had his first 100-yard rushing game in four weeks in Week 8, LT hasn't scored a rushing touchdown in 4-straight games and in six of eight games he has failed to reach the end zone on a carry.

Wide receiver

Andre Johnson -- 95.4 points

In four games under the sun he has 24 receptions for 310 yards, while he has caught 36 passes for 524 yards in four games under a roof.